Al onzo french



" To all whom it may concern:

aient .(tiilrr,

'ALONZO remitend or PHILADELPHL,` PENNsYLvANlA.

Letters Pate-nt N. 95,102, dated September 21, 1869.

rMPRvEMENT IN INSTRUMENTS PoR TIGBTENING AND noos-ENINGr SCREW-cnrs or `FRUIT-mns. i

' The Schedule Vreferred to :in these Letters Patent and: Braking partof the same.

Be it known that I, Arioszo FRENCH, ofrhnadeiphia, Pennsylvania, have `invented an Instrument for i Loosening and Iightening the .Screw-Caps of Fruit- J ars; and I do hereby declare the` following to be afull, clear, andv exact description of the same.

My invention consists oi' two handled jaws, hinged together,`. and having in their inner edges a'screwthread, adapted to a eorrespondin g 'thread on` the 'ilexibler metal ringsy of finit-jars, the wh'ole, which is fully described hereafter, forming an instrument by which thesaid ring maybe readily tightened and loosened, without being distorted or otherwise wounded.

" In order to enable others to' make and use rny invention, I willnow proceed todescribeits construe tion and operation, reference being had 'to the-aeconrpanying drawing,l which-forms apart 'of this specification, and in which 'f' 1 Figure Vlisfa' perspective view ci' my instrument for `loosenlng and tightening. the screw-rings of preservmg-vessels; i

Figure2, a view of the screwring and part of the i vessel, with the instrument-in section; V

Figure 3, a vieiv of theV instrument as it appears when open and" y Figure 4, a modification of the instrument.

A represents the upper portion of a fruit-jar, andB the metallic screw-ring, for confining the' coverl) -to themontbv of the jar. i

^ This ring is made of thin metal, and has a screwthread formed on it, to correspond with.tl1at formed on the glass jar, below themonth of the same. l

Heretofore it has been the practice, in removing and `replacing these screw-rings, to rely upon the force applied by the 4hand which grasps lthe ring,l While this force may'sufiice to tighten the ring and compress the cover to its packing, the loosening of the ring frequently demands a force which cannotbe imparted by the hand, but which can easily be. exercised by the -aid"of my improved instrument.

This'consists of two semi-annular or `nearly semiannular jaws E and E', hinged together at x, each j aw being providediwitha handle, c, or `the handled jaws may be made and 'hinged together, ras shown in tig. 4,

In the inner` edge of the jaws is formed a screwthread, correspondingwith that on the exterior of the y screw-ring B, so that after opening the jaws, and placing the instrumentiover the top ofthe jar, andthen closing the jaws by means ofl the handles, the screwthread of the latter will adapt Aitself to that of the ring, which is seized with arm grip by the instrument, the latter forming'a lever, by the aid of which the ring may be readily loosened from its bearings or.

tightened to its packing and Ithis without distorting` or otherwise wounding the ring; for. although the latter is of such thin metal as tobe flexible, the bearing .of the jaws is so distributed throughout the entire i exterior of the ring, or nearly so, 'that' the latter cannot yield at one point more than a'nther.`

I claim .as my. invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent Y The vithin-described instrument, consisting of two i handled jaws, Vhinged together', and having in their inner sides a screw-thread, adapted to that of a screwring for fruit-jars, all substantially as set forth.

In' testimony whereof, I have signed my name to `thisispeciicaticn, in the presence vof two subscribing witnesses. ALONZO FRENCH.-

-Witnesses JoHN WHrrn, Louis BoswELL. 

